We have recently bought a tent and finally had the courage to buy most of our basic needs to enable us to go camping for the Easter break. I just need a little help to complete the task.

What do you need to connect to a powered site? let me explain, we are from the UK and used to be seasoned trailer tenters, but since moving to Oz nearly 5 yrs ago we have never camped (always opted for the cabins!) but we are beginning to feel the urge to return to the camping lifestyle. In the UK in order to connect to a powered site you needed a special power cable and lots of extras, but not sure what you need here - please help!

Secondly, I am going to ask the age old question about beds! I have researched and researched and still can't come to a conclusion about beds and bedding. We want something that won't take too much car space, is comfortable, and reasonably cheap - what do you guys suggest? And would you go for sleeping bags, or just take our doonas?

We are planning on going to Pambula Beach for a week at Easter, and for part of the week my husband will be returning home and taking the car, leaving me with the kids - not sure if I'm excited or terrified!

Most powered sites require a 15 amp lead,(Larger Earth return) the usual 10 amp stuff plugs into it.Not overly expensive.For bedding its as Gypsy suggested.Mind you we have a $90 air bed that has stayed inflated for 10 days inflated doing a weight test.Bedding can be as big or as small as your comfortable with.Our best ever camping mattress was a Futon Mattress,big but Wow was it Comfortable.Enjoy your time back to Earth.Where are you planning to camp?Welcome to the forum. Gee now I need a beer Titch

I would probably want to recharge batteries, phone and ipods via the electric hook up, but not sure what type of cable I would need to 'hook up', where can i get them from?

Beds - I decided to opt for stretchers, and for myself and my husband I bought some cheap inflatable mattresses to go along with stretchers - I figure the kids don't need as much comfort to sleep and went for stretcher alone, can always buy mattresses if needed later. Hopefully Doonas will be warm enough as not sure I want to fork out for sleeping bags just yet on top of everything else.

Lisa H1 wrote:Hi GuysThanks for the response!I would probably want to recharge batteries, phone and ipods via the electric hook up, but not sure what type of cable I would need to 'hook up', where can i get them from?

Under those circumstances you could probably manage with a 10amp lead and power board which you can purchase from any hardware store. If you had a camper trailer or caravan then you would definitely need a 15amp lead. It still might be a good idea to ring the campground and explain what you want to do and ask if they are happy enough with a 10amp lead.

Lisa H1 wrote:Beds - I decided to opt for stretchers, and for myself and my husband I bought some cheap inflatable mattresses to go along with stretchers - I figure the kids don't need as much comfort to sleep and went for stretcher alone, can always buy mattresses if needed later. Hopefully Doonas will be warm enough as not sure I want to fork out for sleeping bags just yet on top of everything else.

We will be going to NSW Sapphire coast - Pambula for Easter week.

ThanksLisa

Lisa.....I travel through the Outback in the winter months in a camper trailer.....I only ever use a doona. I don't imagine it will be that cold at Easter time but if you are concerned you could always pack some hot water bottles for the beds and a tracksuit to sleep in. You can also insulate on top of the air mattress too....an old blanket will work well

Your stretcher and air mattress should be fine...but make sure you take patches (just in case of puncture) and a pump to pump it up again if it deflates unexpectedly.

You can also buy thin foam mattress overlays to go on the stretchers for the kids or perhaps even those exercise mats which are pretty cheap from the cheapie stores like Crazy Clarks, Sam's Warehouse etc.

Unfortunately this time round we are going to have do without the electricity as all the powered sites are full

I will run with the Doonas and see how we go. Having read all the problems people have experienced with the blow up mattresses, I decided to go for the self inflating ones, so hopefully they should be better, and not too expensive $40 from Rays Outdoors. The stretchers were a bargain at $35 each from SuperCheapAuto. And as you can tell I have just found the smile/icons

I doubt you'll really need power Lisa.....most CPs have a camp kitchen or laundry where you can charge up your phone/camera batteries etc if necessary.

Very pleased to hear you have purchased the self inflating mattress....definitely the way to go.

Now here is a little trick for you......when you open up the mattress.....lay it out in the sun with the valves open for as long as you can. You'll find that the warmth of the suns helps to reset the memory of the foam.

With the stretchers.....make sure there is something under the feet of them inside the tent so that you don't damage the floor.

Here's another little trick to re your esky/cooler....keep it in the shade and with good ventilation and you will find the ice will last longer.

on the keeping things cool topic, before i bought my fridge i had a 70l esky. To keep ice from melting and eveything generally cool I would freeze some soft drink bottles with water and put them at the base of the esky add food drinks etc and then throw the ice all around. Keeps everything much cooler and lasts a very long time. worked really well on moreton island where access to further ice was limited. just a thought...

Mitsi Challenger, 06 Trackabout Deluxe Tourer, Wife, Child and Dog. Sometimes not in that order

Lisa...The info you got from Titch is all correct but if I can add....Reading the requirements for a camping ground a few days ago they were also requiring 15amp plug/cords but it is a requirement for tents and camp trailers to also have an isolating transformer (not often asked for now days).....And remember....Most camping grounds will not let you join ''2'' extn cords together....so make sure you buy a longer one....rather than a short one.

Life is not about how hard you can hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.